Rapha's preparations 'perfect' for Tour of Britain, says Herety

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Rapha-Condor-Sharp's preparations for the Tour of Britain are progressing perfectly, with the team heading to a special five-day training-camp next week, manager John Herety has told Cycling Weekly.

Last week saw the team collect three stage victories, second and fifth overall, and the King of the Mountains classification at the Vuelta Ciclista a Leon in Spain.

Herety told CW in the aftermath of that result that "things are going really well. It's all about the build-up to the Tour of Britain at the moment - that's the big one of the year for us -, and things feel perfect for that."

The team will race the London-Surrey Cycle Classic on Sunday, before heading into what Herety labels a "fine-tuning period" in preparation for the tour.

"We'll go on a five-day training camp and then we'll head to Claremont hospital in Sheffield for some fine-tuning on the bikes," he said.

"It's not about panic-training. Everything feels right at the moment. We'll do no more than five or six hours in one day. We might scout one of the stages, but we won't be putting the team through too much pain."

The team also plans to ride a club ‘10' near York in preparation for the race's final day 10km time trial.

Barnes leads strong showing in Holland

British youngsters impressed at the Assen Youth Tour in Holland (August 1-6).

Hannah Barnes won two stages and took the junior women's overall, while her Motorpoint team-mate Lucy Garner clinched three stages in one of the most prestigious events on the calendar for young riders.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Barnes said: "I didn't expect to win here.

"I went into the time trial in a good position, and winning that was key to me winning overall.

It's always harder racing abroad because there are a lot more riders, and the tactics can be different."

There were also stage wins for national U16 champion Chris Lawless, U16 women Emily Kay and Alice Barnes, U14 Fred Wright, U12s Jessica Roberts and Daniel Tulett.

GB Juniors head to Germany for Nations Cup stage race

A team of British juniors is heading to the sixth UCI Nations Cup race of the season - the Trofeo Karlsberg, which runs from August 11-14.

Owain Doull and Jon Dibben, both fresh from successes on the track at the European Junior Track Championships in Portugal, are both included. They won gold and silver in the junior individual pursuit and made up half the winning quartet in the junior team pursuit.

"Off to Germany to do some pushbike racing with the boys! Always a nice feeling racing in GB kit," tweeted Owain Doull.

Para-cycling Road World Championships team announced

The British squad for the para-cycling World Championships in Roskilde, Denmark has been announced by British Cycling.

Thirteen British riders will take part in the championships, which run from September 8 - 11. Most riders will compete in both the time trial and the road race. The full team (by category) is:

Mark Colbourne - C1; Jody Cundy - C4; Karen Darke - H2; Darren Kenny - C3; Crystal Lane - C5;

Shaun McKeown - C3; Rachel Morris - H3; Simon Price - C2; David Stone - T2; Sarah Storey - C5; Lora Turnham - B/Vi (pilot Louise Haston); Rik Waddon - C3.

Para-cycling star, Sarah Storey, competing in this year's National '10'

UCL recruiting racing cyclists for performance study

University College London is recruiting healthy non-smoking men and women aged 18-45 who regularly cycle at a competitive level, to take part in a research study looking at a new technique that may help to improve the performance of elite athletes.

For further information please contact Mr William Jenner at william.jenner.09@ucl.ac.uk

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